1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat panel display device, and more particularly to a flat panel display device with high resolution.
2. Description of the Related Art
As wireless phones gained popularity over the past several years, many different models of wireless phones have come into existence. One of the popular models is a folding phone, commonly referred to as a “flip phone.” A typical flip phone is made of a display module, a control module, and a hinge mechanism for connecting the two modules such that they can be folded into a compact form when the phone is not in use. The display module is used primarily for conveying information to users, and the control panel is used for receiving user input.
Flip phones often come in a dual-panel configuration, whereby the display module includes multiple liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. Sometimes, the display module is made with two LCD panels: a primary LCD panel that is visible only when the phone is open (or unfolded), and a secondary LCD panel that remains exposed even when the phone is folded. The secondary LCD panel is typically smaller than the primary LCD panel and displays limited information. Usually, the secondary panel displays information that users would want to see without unfolding the phone (e.g., time, message alert).
Generally, the primary LCD and the secondary LCD each has its own driver chip, resulting at least two separate chips per phone. This use of two or more different chips is economically disadvantageous, both from a circuit design perspective and a manufacturing cost perspective. To reduce this economic inefficiency, much research effort has been geared to designing a chip that can drive both LCD panels.
FIG. 16 is a partial view of a currently existing driver chip 50 that is designed to control multiple display panels. The Figure shows 12 contact pads 60 (herein also referred to as “terminals”) arranged along a first edge 52 of the driver chip 50 and eight contact pads 60 arranged along a second edge 54 of the driver chip 50. The contact pads 60 are categorizable into three groups: the data signal contact pads 62, the first gate signal contact pads 64, and the second gate signal contact pads 66. As is well known, the number of contact pads determines the resolution of the display panel; hence, the more contact pads there are, the higher the resolution. Although it is desirable to increase the resolution of the display panel by increasing the number of contact pads, increasing the number of contact pads is undesirable because it leads to a larger driver chip 50 and therefore a larger device. Since the contact pads are spaced apart by a minimum distance to achieve a desired level of reliability and quality, it is equally undesirable to try to increase the number of contact pads without increasing the size of the driver chip 50. Due to these limitations, the currently available driver chip 50 is only usable with low-resolution displays.
A driver chip that can control multiple display panels including at least one high-resolution display without the attendant increase in chip size is desired.